The Hunting Requests look harmless when Arthur finds the first poster at a train station. A woman wants a perfect squirrel and rabbit for an exhibition. Then the lists add tiny birds, nocturnal animals, frogs, and a beaver that can spoil on the horse while Arthur searches for the post office.

There are five requests. The first four can be completed during the main story, while the fifth and the final visit are saved for the epilogue. Every animal must be a perfect, unskinned carcass. A perfect pelt without the body does not count.

How to Start the Hunting Requests

Take a Hunting Request poster from the board inside or near a train station. Reliable boards include Valentine, Strawberry, Rhodes, Saint Denis, and Van Horn. The first poster starts the task. After a complete list is mailed, the next request arrives through the post after roughly one in-game day.

Carry all animals from the active list at the same time, then mail the full package from a post office. Do not skin them. Small carcasses such as birds, squirrels, rats, chipmunks, and frogs go into the satchel and do not rot. Rabbits, opossums, skunks, and beavers ride on the horse and can decay.

Hunt the satchel animals first. Save the largest carcass for last, place it on the horse, and ride directly to the nearest post office. Fast travel and long detours create extra time for the quality to drop.

Weapons and Perfect Carcass Rules

  • Small Game Arrows: squirrels, rats, chipmunks, bats, frogs, and small birds. Craft them with regular arrows, shotgun shells, and Flight Feathers.
  • Varmint Rifle: rabbits, opossums, skunks, and beavers. Aim for the head and avoid repeated shots.
  • Study the animal first: binoculars or a scoped view show whether it has three stars before Arthur fires.
  • Use Dead Eye: tiny birds rarely stay still long enough for careful free aim. Mark one clean shot instead of firing into the flock.

The Buck Antler Trinket can preserve the quality of some clean kills that would otherwise drop a star. It does not turn every bad shot into a perfect carcass, so carry the correct weapon anyway. Make a save before mailing each list in case the next request fails to arrive.

Arthur Morgan moving through a forest in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Small animals can be stored safely in the satchel, but larger carcasses should be hunted last. Rockstar Games, via PlayStation.

Request 1: Squirrel and Rabbit

  • Perfect Squirrel Carcass: Search the woods around Horseshoe Overlook, Ringneck Creek, or the road north of Rhodes. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Perfect Adult Rabbit Carcass: Rabbits are common across the Heartlands. Use the Varmint Rifle and hunt this one last because it stays on the horse.

Mail both together for a $50 reward. This list teaches the rule that applies to every later request: a perfect animal in the Compendium is not enough. The actual unskinned body must be in Arthur's possession when he reaches the post office.

Request 2: Cardinal, Rat, and Woodpecker

  • Perfect Cardinal Carcass: Watch the rocks along the Dakota River or the open ground around Fort Brennand. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Perfect Rat Carcass: Search the cave behind Elysian Pool or the ruined saloon in Limpany. Small Game Arrows keep the carcass perfect.
  • Perfect Woodpecker Carcass: Look along the Dakota River near Cumberland Falls and the wooded edge of the Heartlands. Listen for the call and watch birds crossing above the road.

The reward is $70. Woodpeckers cause most of the delay because they spend more time flying than sitting on a clear branch. Ride slowly with the bow ready, use Dead Eye as soon as the species name appears, and pick up the body before another animal distracts you.

Request 3: Chipmunk, Opossum, Oriole, and Robin

  • Perfect Chipmunk Carcass: Search dry woodland around Ringneck Creek, Diablo Ridge, and the roads north of Strawberry. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Perfect Opossum Carcass: Hunt at night east of Caliga Hall or around Riggs Station. It may play dead when approached. Use the Varmint Rifle and collect it last.
  • Perfect Oriole Carcass: Watch riverside rocks along the Dakota and the open sky around Fort Brennand. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Perfect Robin Carcass: Check rocks near Brandywine Drop or the small islands west of Braithwaite Manor. Robins are rare, so keep any perfect one found before this request.

Mail the four carcasses together for $100. The satchel can hold the birds and chipmunk indefinitely, which removes most of the pressure. Once those three are secured, wait until evening, hunt the opossum, and travel directly to the post office.

Arthur Morgan standing outdoors in Red Dead Redemption 2.
The Buck Antler Trinket helps protect pelt quality, but the correct weapon and a clean kill still matter. Rockstar Games, via PlayStation.

Request 4: Songbird, Sparrow, Toad, Bullfrog, and Skunk

  • Perfect Songbird Carcass: Watch river rocks, fences, and open fields around Fort Brennand with Small Game Arrows ready.
  • Perfect Sparrow Carcass: Search the Heartlands and fields around Emerald Ranch. Sparrows often travel in small groups.
  • Perfect Toad Carcass: Walk the muddy shoreline around Copperhead Landing or the islands west of Rhodes.
  • Perfect Bullfrog Carcass: Search the same Lemoyne wetlands, especially at night. Use a Small Game Arrow for both amphibians.
  • Perfect Skunk Carcass: Hunt after dark east of Caliga Hall, around Ringneck Creek, or near Riggs Station. Use the Varmint Rifle and collect it last.

The fourth list pays $120. Toads and bullfrogs are easiest on foot because they disappear into grass when Arthur rides too quickly. Use Eagle Eye along the waterline, listen for movement, and avoid stepping on the animal before taking the shot.

Request 5: Cedar Waxwing, Bat, Blue Jay, Crow, and Beaver

The fifth list becomes available in the epilogue. It asks for a perfect Cedar Waxwing, Bat, Blue Jay, Crow, and Beaver. Four fit in the satchel. The beaver goes on the horse and should always be the final animal collected.

  • Cedar Waxwing: Watch the sky around Fort Brennand, Heartland Overflow, and the Dakota River. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Bat: Enter the cave behind Elysian Pool and look at the ceiling or cave floor. Use a Small Game Arrow.
  • Blue Jay: Search river rocks, fences, and wooded roads around the Dakota River and Cumberland Forest.
  • Crow: Crows appear across open country and around animal remains. Wait for one to land before taking the shot.
  • Beaver: Hunt along Owanjila or the Kamassa River with the Varmint Rifle, then ride straight to the post office.

The Squirrel Statue and It's Art

After mailing the fifth request, wait for an invitation from Ms. Hobbs and visit her home. She gives John the Squirrel Statue. Place it above the fireplace at Beecher's Hope to finish the Hunting Requests line and begin the final part of the It's Art trophy or achievement.

The statue keeps disappearing. Find it in John's bedroom chest, the bedroom chimney, the loft chest above the kitchen, the wheelbarrow near the sheep barn, and the barn loft. Its final hiding place is on Mount Shann, north of Strawberry. Return it to the fireplace after each discovery.

Avoid the Request Progress Bug

Do not carry perfect carcasses for a future list while mailing the current request. Some players have lost stored animals or failed to receive the next letter after the game tries to update both stages at once. Finish one active list cleanly, wait for the next poster to arrive, then begin collecting its animals.

Keep a manual save before every mailing and another before the final visit. Hunting Requests count toward 100 percent only after the chain reaches its proper ending. With the tiny animals stored safely first and the larger carcass hunted last, the task becomes a series of short trips instead of one long fight against decay.